


Wild Girls With Wild Brown Waves

by hallelujah99



Series: The Goodkind-Shalifoe Family [4]
Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Babies, F/F, Fluff, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kids, Parenthood, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Sweet, but only briefly, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:41:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28408683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallelujah99/pseuds/hallelujah99
Summary: Shelby isn’t sure what started her obsession with wild girls with wild brown waves.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Series: The Goodkind-Shalifoe Family [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088612
Comments: 44
Kudos: 315





	Wild Girls With Wild Brown Waves

Shelby isn’t sure when she first developed a thing for wild girls with with wildly wavy brown hair. 

It might have been in fifth grade, with Gracie Franklin. The girl who’d been kicked out of her old school and didn’t seem to fear getting kicked out of the new one either. Shelby would stare at her from across the playground as she picked fights, wondering about her, what had happened at her old school, and if there was ever any way she’d want to be Shelby’s friend.

There was Becca of course. Shelby could never forget the brown waves, matted against her forehead as she laid in a hospital bed, seemingly so small, after her first attempt. Becca felt everything so much and had so many expectations placed on her that she just seemed to crack, and somehow Shelby had found her even more beautiful in that moment.

There were other girls between them of course, the waitress at the Cheesecake Favtory who kept her waves in a braid and wasn’t afraid to whisper to Shelby which dishes were actually kinda gross; or Miss Hebronville, the pageant girl who had offered to take her outside to smoke a joint. (She didn’t do it, of course, but she thought about it daily for two months afterwards) 

Finally, there was Toni Shalifoe. For a while, Shelby hadn’t ever really even seen her hair washed, but she had grown enamored with the tangled and seemingly random patterns her salt-kissed hair made. She longed to reach out and play with it, long before she even admitted to herself how much she also longed to kiss her. As for the wild side, that was undeniable with Toni. Watching her scream, destroy and fall apart, drew Shelby in. What had happened to her? What was the pain underneath the furry? Might there ever be a way for Shelby to unlock a softer side of her?

It was easy, on the island. Everything stripped down, emotions raw, no one there to tell them not to do whatever felt right in the moment. 

It was impossible, in the bunker, not seeing her. Missing her every day and wondering when she might get to see her again. Wondering who she’d be meeting, the soft girl under the lychee tree, or the screaming one with untameable rage. She loved both. 

It varried, afterwards. Shelby had to come out, and that was no small thing. They went through legal trials and press coverage and had to navigate how to figure out their feelings in a situation they had no framework for. 

The first time they got any alone time after the bunker was in the hallway of a law firm in LA. Shelby marveled at the way Toni’s hair looked, finally clean, but still wild, curls and waves mixing together. Her eyes were bright and her smile uncertain as they’d approached each other, but relief washed over her as Toni whispered “come here” and pulled her in close. 

Backstage at one of several TV interviews, Shelby watched on in horror as the stylist moved a flat iron through Toni’s waves. Sure, Toni was still the most beautiful girl in the world to her, but their make out session in the green room was just not quite the same without those waves to sink her fingers into. 

One night, as Shelby ran her fingers through her own growing hair, just long enough to cover her ears, she asked Toni “Would you ever shave your head do you think?” She hoped the answer was no, but knew she wouldn’t love her any less. She was far past the point of caring about the wild hair. Of course, Toni’s wild personality was still there, though Shelby had become used to and more than comfortable with her calm, vulnerable side as well.  
“Nah I wouldn’t shave my head. I know you love my hair.” Toni said simply.  
Shelby wasn’t sure how she had picked up on that, but she smiled and nodded. She and Toni got things about each other implicitly. They knew what one another needed, understood each other on a deeper level than the other couples they knew. 

They saved a little money on their wedding since they agreed that there was no reason to hire anyone to do Toni’s hair. It flowed wildly around her shoulders as she tore up the dance floor, and Shelby laughed in pure elation that everything she’d ever wanted was right there, and was hers forever.

Shelby thought that Toni would be the last wild girl with wild brown waves to capture her heart, but she was wrong. Her name is Isla.

Toni had only been half serious when she suggested the name, but Shelby’s pregnancy-hormone brain latched on to it. They texted the group chat to see what their thoughts were, and Leah said it best-the name was a beautiful tribute to an experience that had made them all stronger women, and had brought her parents together. The miracle of Isla simply wouldn’t be without the island.

Of course, that’s not to say there isn’t trauma associated with the experience, but they’ve chosen to focus on the good, and their daughter is the purest reminder of that goodness. 

Dot loved the name idea, in part because she was named after the woman who had introduced her own parents. (Fatin’s follow up suggestion of naming a future child Gretchen was not totally appreciated).

Now, Shelby turns the light on as she watches Isla, standing in her crib, hanging on to the edge, throw her head back and cry, her soft brown hair a wild mess all over the place. “Mama’s here, Isla.” She says gently, and Isla’s cries subside. She reaches up and Shelby pulls her out of her crib, kissing her good morning and reveling in the sweet smell of her baby shampoo. 

Isla melts into her arms for a second before leaning back “See Mommy?” Isla has been going through this phase for a few weeks now, where all she wants is Toni, every hour of every day. Shelby’s moms group on Facebook all reassure her it’s normal for an almost 2 year old. And she gets it, she also wants to spend as much time as humanly possible in Toni’s presence. 

“Mommy is sleeping.” Shelby tells her.  
“See Mommy!” Isla insists. Her big brown eyes, mirror images of Toni’s, threaten to fill with tears. And just as Shelby hates saying no to Toni, she can’t say no their daughter. “Okay then, let’s see mommy.”

She carries Isla on her hip into their bedroom. Toni is laying on her side, facing the spot Shelby had left minutes ago.

“Go give Mommy a kiss.” Shelby tells her, and Isla doesn’t have to be told twice. Her little feet run across the bed and she drops down to plant a sloppy kiss on Toni’s cheek. Toni smiles and gently pulls her daughter into her. Isla’s head disappears under the curtain of Toni’s hair, and Shelby can’t tell her where her wife’s hair ends and their daughter’s begins. She really is her spitting image.

Shelby takes in the sight, her two girls cuddling. Her whole world, laying in soft white sheets. Toni’s hand reaches up towards her. No words are needed.

She climbs into their bed and snuggles in, burying her face into the mess of brown waves.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: in writing this, I didn’t really think about the repetitions of the word “wild” and the fact that’s pretty much the name of show.
> 
> Another fun fact: I’ve written so much fanfic in the past week, it’s almost like I’m serious ignoring serious responsibilities (I absolutely am)
> 
> Final fun fact: I love comments, they mean so so much to me! Thank you!!!


End file.
